[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: An exquisite early autumn morning at New Road, and despite a poor start, Josh Tongue made the breakthrough after a quarter of an hour by bowling Morne Morkel as Surrey slumped to 268 all out, granting Worcestershire a handy first-innings lead of 68. That lead was extended as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell made it through to lunch without loss.

Afternoon: Mitch was caught at slip shortly after the interval for 15, but the session belonged to Tom Fell, who played his best innings of the season to reach 89 before he was bowled by Morkel just before tea. At 157-4 things still looked healthy for the Pears, but sadly it was the beginning of the end.

Evening: If (or rather when) relegation comes, it'll be a result of those isolated sessions when catastrophe struck and undid all of the good work. The evening session was precisely one of those moments, as the Pears collapsed to 203 all out under the onslaught of Morne Morkel. Any hopes that the pitch might have grown more difficult to play on were frustratingly dispelled as the Surrey openers made it to stumps without loss. 70-0 overnight, with just 202 runs needed for the visitors, Worcestershire have yet again gone from having the advantage in a match to needing a miracle to win.